Auburn crushes Ole Miss 31-16

Auburn crushes Ole Miss 31-16

Copyright 2018 Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Video

OXFORD, Miss. (AP/WIAT) -- The Auburn Tigers will play the Ole Miss Rebels this Saturday.

Coming off two straight losses against Mississippi State and Tennessee in week 6 and 7, the (4-3, 1-3 in the conference) Tigers hope to end their losing streak and come up victorious over the Rebels. Ole Miss on the other hand, is ranked 4th in the SEC with a 5-2 season record thus far. Ole Miss fell short against Alabama in week 3 and LSU in week 5. In the last two years, The Rebels lost in the Auburn-Ole Miss matchup.

Kickoff is at 11 a.m. CT at Vaugh-Hemmingway Stadium in Oxford.

JaTarvious Whitlow rushed for 170 yards on 19 carries as Auburn scored on three consecutive touchdown drives to open the third quarter Saturday and defeat Mississippi 31-16.

The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Tigers (5-3, 2-3 Southeastern Conference), who broke open a 10-6 halftime lead with the second-half surge. Auburn rolled up 484 yards in total offense in a turnover-free performance.

The Tigers put together scoring drives of 68, 75 and 62 yards to build a 31-9 cushion that was never seriously threatened. Anthony Schwartz recovered a fumble in the end zone after a 54-yard run by Whitlow while Malik Miller capped drives with scoring runs of 1 and 2 yards.

Whitlow added a touchdown reception of 3 yards from Jarrett Stidham and Anders Carlson converted a 28-yard field goal to build the halftime lead.

Stidham finished 13-of-22 passing for 215 yards.

Ole Miss (5-3, 1-3) moved the ball, accounting for 447 yards in total offense, but settled for three field goals on three tries in the red zone. Luke Logan converted field goals of 36, 37 and 35 yards, respectively.

Jordan Ta'amu was 27 of 46 for 324 yards with a 12-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Brown in the final period after Auburn had built an insurmountable lead. Brown finished with 10 receptions for 155 yards.

THE TAKEAWAY

Auburn: Defensively, the Tigers were brilliant when the game was still in doubt, limiting Ole Miss to field goals and forcing the ball over on downs twice. Deshaun Davis had 13 tackles, Nick Coe added three sacks and Marlon Davidson blocked a field-goal attempt.

The Tigers face three ranked teams, including archrival No. 1 Alabama in November, but the inspired performance should turn down the volume temporarily on Gus Malzahn's job status. The Tigers need one win to become bowl eligible.

Ole Miss: The Rebels moved the ball effectively, but failure to reach the end zone in three quarters prevented keeping pace with Auburn. The offense performed unevenly after last week's season-ending injury to deep-threat receiver D. K. Metcalf. The defensive unit was unable to get a stop during the crucial third quarter and finished without forcing a turnover.

UP NEXT

Auburn: The Tigers get an open date before hosting No. 17 Texas A&M on Nov.3.

Ole Miss: The Rebels, after an open date, host South Carolina on Nov. 3.

Georgia News

CHILTON COUNTY, Ala. (WRBL) - News 3 has learned the passenger killed in Friday's tragic Metro Narcotics Task Force Helicopter crash was a "ride-along" and never should have been on the doomed flight as the agency's CEO confirms only law enforcement members are allowed on board.

Search crews say they found the body of a retired CPD officer at the bottom of Alabama's Coosa River on Saturday. However, recovery teams were not able to remove him from the wreckage of a crashed task force helicopter before calling off efforts for the day.

Alabama News

CHILTON COUNTY, Ala. (WRBL) - News 3 has learned the passenger killed in Friday's tragic Metro Narcotics Task Force Helicopter crash was a "ride-along" and never should have been on the doomed flight as the agency's CEO confirms only law enforcement members are allowed on board.